Man arrested at casino on theft charges

A man accused of stealing more than $40,000 from his girlfriend and emptying an 8-year-old girl’s savings account to support a gambling habit has been arrested.

Matt Buedel

A man accused of stealing more than $40,000 from his girlfriend and emptying an 8-year-old girl’s savings account to support a gambling habit has been arrested.

Gayal W. Morris, 54, was taken into custody Thursday night at the Par-A-Dice Riverboat Casino. He was charged with a Class 2 felony theft charge Friday by the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office and ordered held on $20,000 bond.

Morris’ girlfriend, a 47-year-old Brimfield woman who allowed him to move in to her home in the 7000 block of North Woodfern Road in May, reported the theft to a Peoria County Sheriff’s deputy on Tuesday.

In addition to the money missing from her bank accounts, she reported her daughter’s savings account also had been emptied.

One police report pegged total losses to the woman’s savings at more than $40,000 and the child’s account at more than $1,700. A separate report noted that one of the victim’s accounts at a bank in Peoria had been emptied of $34,000 and that the bank was going to forgive $4,000 of the allegedly unauthorized withdrawals.

The woman told police she had been in a long-distance relationship with Morris prior to May. According to a report, he told her he lost his job and needed a place to stay.

The victim allowed Morris to move in with her. Earlier in November, she realized she had not seen a bank statement in months, she told police.

She requested bank statements and discovered her losses shortly before Thanksgiving.

The victim reported last seeing Morris on Nov. 23, when he left the home to go gamble. According to police, he admitted to having a gambling problem at the time of his arrest.

Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or mbuedel@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @JournoBuedel.